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OFFICIAL US MINT COVERS

2000 South Carolina States Quarter Coin Cover graded by NGC, obverse view. These
coins are designated as First Day of Mintage, and have received different grades,
thus two grade lines appear.Click to enlarge

NGC offers a certification option for United States Mint Official Commemorative
Coin Covers. NGC grades the enclosed coins and seal the entire US Mint cover within
a clear semi-rigid plastic sleeve. This allows the US Mint packaging to be preserved
while receiving the advantages of an NGC certified grade. A label across the top
of the holder describes the cover and enclosed coins. If the coins are of matched
grade, a single grade line appears on the label. If they receive different grades,
two lines of text are used to describe each coin individually (see photos).

Coin covers are presentation holders offered by the US Mint, consisting of a mailing
envelope with enclosed coin(s), and a cancelled postage stamp. The date of the stamp’s
cancellation is the coin’s first day of issue, the day the coin was released
into circulation. For this reason, collectors often refer to coin covers as "First
Day Covers," abbreviated "FDC." Many US Mint covers are eligible
for certification under this new service, including, for example:

50 State Quarters Official Commemorative Coin Cover

Westward Journey Nickel Series Official Commemorative Coin Cover

Sacagawea Dollar United States Mint Official Commemorative Coin Cover

United States Mint Official American Presidency $1 Coin Cover

Some US Mint covers enclose coins struck on the first day of minting. NGC uses the
designation "First Day of Mintage" for these coins. This designation is
applied only when the US Mint Cover explicitly states that the enclosed coins were
struck on the first day of minting. For example, on the US States Quarters coin
cover, the holder reads, in part, "The [quarter dollars] showcased in this
historic cover are coins struck on the first day of minting...." The US Mint
Sacagawea Dollar cover reads beneath the coin, "Struck on First Day of Mintage...."
If an explicit description, such as the examples shown above, does not appear on
the cover, the designation is not assigned by NGC.

Because the coins are graded while still housed within the US Mint Cover and will
remain in this packaging, the NGC Coin Grading Guarantee does not apply. The NGC
Guarantee applies only to coins in NGC holders. Like other NGC graded coins, the
grades for these coins will be reported in the NGC Census, and they will be eligible
for the NGC Registry.

Submission Instructions

NGC recommends that submitters send covers still shrink-wrapped and affixed to cardboard,
as mailed by the US Mint’s fulfillment center. This is not required, but coins
in damaged or tampered covers will not be eligible for this service and cannot be
designated as "First Day of Mintage." Additionally, NGC will, at its sole
discretion, not certify coins that reside in soiled, stained, torn, or tattered
covers. Only US Mint covers are eligible for certification by NGC. Privately
issued covers are not accepted.

To submit coins for grading and encapsulation in the US Mint cover, submitters should
list the covers on a submission form. Covers should be submitted separately from
other coin types being encapsulated in regular NGC holders. Coins in covers are
eligible for grading at Modern Tier rates, and a grading fee applies to each coin
in the cover. Minimum quantity submission rules still apply, and thus at least three
sets of two coins are required when using Modern Tier. Submitters with a single
coin cover should use the Early Bird Tier. Note that only the encapsulated cover
is returned to the submitter, and no other packaging materials will be returned
by NGC.

Questions regarding NGC Submission procedures should be directed to NGC Customer
Service. They may be contacted by e-mail at [email protected]
or by phone at 1-800-NGC-COIN.

NGC US Mint Cover Gallery
Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger image.